The French Atlantic Affair
| Industry | Shipping / Ocean liner operator |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Passenger ocean liner services |
The French Atlantic Affair is a television miniseries in three parts, produced and aired in 1979, adapted from the 1977 novel authored by Ernest Lehman.
Plot
The story revolves around the luxury ocean liner SS Marseilles, operated by the French Atlantic Line, which is seized by Father Dunleavy, a charismatic priest, along with his devoted cult members who demand a ransom of $70 million in gold. Novelist Harold Columbine teams up with Captain Charles Girodt to rescue the passengers, some of whom are affiliated with the cult.
Communication with the outside world depends solely on two young amateur radio operators aboard the ship. The SS Marseilles draws its design inspiration from the French Line’s ocean liner SS France.
In contrast to the novel, where the hijackers are depicted as former NASA personnel dismissed after the conclusion of the Apollo program, the amateur radio operators in the book are portrayed as a passenger and his doctor friend onshore rather than cult members.
Cast
- Jean-Pierre Aumont as Chief Jean-Claude Raffin
- Horst Buchholz as Dr. Chabot
- James Coco as George Sauvinage
- Chad Everett as Harold Columbine
- José Ferrer as President Aristide Brouchard
- John Houseman as Dr. Archady Clemens
- Carolyn Jones as Peg
- Richard Jordan as Julian Wunderlicht
- Louis Jourdan as Captain Charles Girodt
- Michelle Phillips as Jennie Barber
- Marie-France Pisier as Lisa
- Donald Pleasence as Max Dechambre
- John Rubinstein as Herb Kleinfeld
- Telly Savalas as Father Dunleavy
- Stella Stevens as Louise Crawford
- Shelley Winters as Helen Wabash
- Lance LeGault as Lester Foyles
- William Lucking as Don Crawford
- Nehemiah Persoff as Col. Schreiner
- Dane Clark as Admiral J. Elton Knox
- Richard Anderson as Terrence Crown
- Corinne Calvet as Madame Brouchard
- Harvey Jason as Plessier
- Dana Hill as Maggie Joy
- Army Archerd as Stanford Whitman
- M. Emmet Walsh as Harry
- Arielle Dombasle as Hotel Operator
- Roger Til as Devillaine
- James Jeter as Al
Production
Filming for exterior shots and deck sequences took place in the Caribbean aboard Carnival Cruise Lines' SS Festivale, which retained its original name and branding but was portrayed as part of the fictional French Atlantic Line. The SS Marseilles in the novel is modeled after the SS France from the French Line. Interior scenes were captured on studio soundstages and on board the RMS Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, California, with supplementary location filming conducted in Paris and surrounding regions.
Literature
- Ernest Lehman: The French Atlantic Affair Atheneum, New York 1977
References
- "Something in the creative process has gone badly awry with this ungainly, pedestrian, not-very-suspense story ..." https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19771113&id=UUk0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=X2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2331,5050136